New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players to Return With THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE

New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP) returns to New York for its 47th season, and its first full production since January 2020, with one of Gilbert & Sullivan's most famed works, The Pirates of Penzance. NYGASP, America's preeminent professional Gilbert & Sullivan repertory company will present 4 performances at New York's Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues).

The show will feature a cast of talented NYGASP veterans and new Company members bringing this treasured production back to life. Audiences will be entertained by the brilliant wit of this venerable classic as it still remains especially relevant for contemporary audiences of all ages, young and old. Freshly reimagined scenic elements and newly designed costumes add to the visual experience.

On the weekend of April 8-10, the troupe will present the witty and charming The Pirates of Penzance with a score that includes such favorites as "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" (the most frequently parodied patter song ever), coloratura soprano opera inspired "Poor Wand'ring One", Sullivan's signature famed double chorus "When the Foeman Bares His Steel" and "Come friends who plough the sea" (the source for the tune of "Hail, hail the gang's all here" and reminiscent of the Anvil Chorus from Verdi's Il Trovatore -a true example of historical before and after).

Everyone has pretended to be a pirate at some point, and the pirates of England's rocky Penzance are no exception. On the coast of Cornwall, a band of tenderhearted pirates celebrates the coming of age of Frederic, who was mistakenly apprenticed to the pirates until his 21st birthday. Now, Frederic has vowed to devote his life to the extermination of piracy - until a ludicrous leap year snag threatens to keep him apprenticed to the pirates for life! Throw in a bevy of beauties, a brash Pirate King, the delightfully stuffy Major-General Stanley and you've got what The New York Times calls "an endearing production with high musical standards and spirited performances".

The NYGASP production of Pirates has been a staple of the Company's repertory for over 40 years. Each season brings fresh new faces joining with seasoned veterans - creating an exciting blend of experience and novelty. For 2022, freshly reimagined scenic elements and new pirate costumes add visual pop to the tried and true production. This season's cast includes lovely veteran soprano Sarah Caldwell Smith and newcomer Sophie Thompson as Mabel, expert comedians James Mills and David Macaluso alternating as pattering Major-General Stanley and pirate side kick Samuel, Cáitlín Burke and Angela Christine Smith as ditsy nursemaid Ruth, two dynamic but timid Sergeants of Police - limber David Auxier and booming basso Quinto Ott, swashbucklers David Wannen and Matthew Wages as the brash Pirate King, handsome tenors Alex Corson and Christopher Robin Sapp as duty bound pirate apprentice Frederic, with Amy Maude Helfer, Hannah Holmes, Elisabeth Cernadas, Laura Sudduth, and Caitlin Borek as the Major- General's daughters adventurous Kate, concerned Edith, and dancer Isabel. Ensemble of Pirates, Police, and General Stanley's Wards include, Michelle Seipel, Kendrick Pifer, Alexandra Imbrosci-Viera, Abby Kurth, Hannah Eakin, Cameron Smith, Chris-Ian Sanchez, Michael Connolly, Michael Galante, Lance Olds, Logan Pitts, and Matthew Carter.

Founder and Artistic Director Albert Bergeret shares the conductor's podium with Associate Conductor Joseph Rubin.

Pirates Performances:
> Friday, April 8, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.
> Saturday, April 9, 2022 at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
> Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 3 p.m.

Ticket Options: $25 - $105

> Discount: Children and Students 21 and under are 50% off

For information on all shows and to purchase tickets please visit: www.nygasp.org/.